As we will see in these colorized photographs, the Duesenberg Model J was in a class by itself. It was the Rolls Royce of American-made cars, but brothers Fred and Augie Duesenberg of Duesenberg Motors had terrible timing. Let’s take a look at the Duesenberg Model J and the Duesenberg brothers.

The Duesenberg Brothers Had a Need for Speed

Frederick and August Duesenberg personified both the American Dream and the superiority of German engineering. The brothers, called Fred and Augie, were both born in Lippe, Germany but immigrated to the United States as youngsters. They grew up on their family’s Iowa farm. As boys, Fred and Augie were more interested in tinkering with mechanics than they were in farming. They also had a need for speed.

The brothers opened a bicycle shop in Rockford, Iowa, in the 1890s because Fred Duesenberg had become seriously involved in bicycle racing. In fact, he set several world records during his time as a competitive bike racer. To help him train, the brothers designed and built a motorcycle. They were so successful that they tried their hands at building an automobile. For a short time, they were in business with a friend, Fred Maytag, but he soon left to start his own company making washing machines.

Fred and Augie Duesenberg must have inherited some of that famous German engineering. At the very least, they had an eye for detail and a drive to produce superior machines. In 1914, Fred Duesenberg designed a 12-cylinder motor that was used for high-speed motorboats and aircraft. The motor was good enough to be used in racecars. Eddie Rickenbacker was the first racecar driver to drive a Duesenberg-powered automobile in the Indianapolis 500. He finished tenth in the 1914 race.

Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company

After spending World War I designing and building aircraft engines for the military, Fred and Augie Duesenberg started the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company in Indianapolis in 1920. They started with the Duesenberg Model A, a vehicle that was commissioned by Samuel Northrup Castle, a businessman and politician. The Model A was a beautiful and powerful car. At the time, it had the largest engine available in a commercial vehicle with a 260 cubic-inch straight eight, 88 horsepower engine. It was also the first vehicle to have hydraulic brakes on every wheel. 

When wealthy business executive Errett Lobban Cord decided he wanted a luxury automobile, he went to see Fred and Augie Duesenberg. He asked the brothers to design and build him the “grandest American car.” Even though that is a pretty tall order, the Duesenberg brothers were up to the task. What they created was a vehicle unlike any other.

The Duesenberg Model J was elegant, stately, and powerful. It boasted a 7.0-liter straight-eight, 250-horsepower engine that was powerful enough to move the 20-foot, 4000-pound vehicle to a top speed of 116 miles per hour. The Model J, like other cars produced during this time, was displayed as only the chassis and engine. Buyers could customize the body and interior to their own specifications. They could choose between stylized elements, including instrument panels, headlamps, fenders, and hoods. The chassis and engine sold for $8500, the equivalent of about $130,000 in today’s dollars. When you add in the body and interior, customers were looking at a price tag of around $13,000, or $200,000 in today’s money.

Terrible Timing

The Duesenberg Model J hit the market in December 1928. Some of the wealthiest people in America at that time bought the Model J so they, too, could ride in the lap of luxury, impress their friends, or revel in the latest state-of-the-art vehicles. Roughly eight months later, however, the Stock Market crashed, plunging the U.S. into a Great Depression. Surprisingly, the Duesenberg Automobile Company continued to manufacture the Model J throughout the Great Depression and there were a few buyers willing to shell out big bucks for this opulent vehicle in the midst of the economic uncertainty. Those fortunate individuals who could still afford to buy a luxury car were sure to tell their family and friends that they had, “a real Duesy.”

A Shrinking Customer Base

The Duesenberg Model J was arguably the finest American-made automobile ever built. Celebrities, royalty, and rich business owners bought the car. But it was not enough. The Great Depression greatly decreased the customer base for the Duesenberg Model J. The Duesenberg company was absorbed into the Cord Motor company in 1937 and the last Duesenberg rolled off the assembly line in 1940.